ConnCAT Place Breaks Ground

On the grave of the now-demolished Dixwell Plaza, work began Tuesday on the 186 housing units, the new 69,000 square-foot headquarters for job training, and the food hall set to rise in its place.

This next step for ConnCORP’s long-anticipated redevelopment of Dixwell Plaza — known as ConnCAT Place — was celebrated at a Tuesday press conference and groundbreaking, where city officials and those affiliated with the project shared more information and words of praise. 

The press conference began with a prayer lead by Dr. Kelcy G. L. Steele, pastor of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church, which called on the fact that the Dixwell neighborhood has been ​“underserved” throughout history. ​“We thank you, Lord, for allowing us to change the narrative today.”

Erik Clemons, founding CEO of ConnCORP and ConnCAT, emphasized the project’s aim to honor the neighborhood and its history. He recalled a metaphor of a quilt to describe the project of revitalization. 

“A quilt is about people … it’s about different colors, different sizes, different shapes, different textures, coming together,” he said. He attributed the metaphor to nationally-renowned architect Peter D. Cook, whose architecture firm HGA designed the project and who was also in attendance. 

According to ConnCORP Chief Operating Officer Paul McCraven, the first phase of the development will include the construction of a new 69,000 square-foot headquarters for ConnCAT, a worker training center. It will be joined by a 186-unit mixed income apartment tower, a Cornell Scott-Hill Health child mental health and family center, a Friends Center for Children-affiliated daycare, a grocery store and food hall, a greenspace, and retail storefronts. 

Construction is starting immediately, and developers are working on an 18-month timeline. They’re starting with the foundation. Around the start of 2025, the plan is to start building up. 

Mayor Justin Elicker, who emphasized the word ​“game-changer” when describing the project, agreed that ​“Dixwell has struggled in recent history.” He pointed in the direction of the new Q House, the new Stetson Library. ​“Dixwell Avenue is hopping,” he said. 

Speakers listed Dixwell giants like the late federal judge Constance Baker Motley (which evoked cheers from the audience), Edward Bouchet (the first Black American PhD recipient), and Dixwell United Church of Christ’s Rev. Edwin Edmonds.

“The Dixwell community has always led,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said.

ConnCAT and ConnCORP Board Chair Carlton Highsmith agreed, and mentioned current Dixwell children who he predicted will grow to be ​“Black achievers.”

“The real heroes in this saga are you, the folks who live in this community,” Highsmith said. 

“And,” he added, ​“don’t forget to vote.”

The cost of the first building, ConnCAT headquarters, as well as the cost of the land and the demolition of the old Elks Club, amount to $61 million. ConnCORP Chief Investment Officer Anna Blanding explained that the funding for the project, which she identified as an ​“impact investment,” comes from a combination of state and federal dollars, grants, loans, and donations. 

Nadine Nelson and her mother Ferris Nelson were seated in the audience. They had lived in the neighborhood for a long time on West Ivy Street before later moving to Hamden, and they come back often. On Tuesday, they were there to support Ian Williams, ConnCORP’s vice president of real estate and Ferris’s brother-in-law. 

Nadine said she is excited for the wraparound services, and maybe for a resurgence of Dixwell’s jazz scene to accompany the new space. She’s especially looking forward to the food hall, which her uncle said might host a restaurant that she used to enjoy but no longer has a storefront in Dixwell. 

“I think the change will be better for the neighborhood,” Ferris said, particularly the grocery store. ​“Shopping was always hard, especially for the elderly.”

Lifelong New Havener Jeroy Smith, a therapist who rents office space from ConnCORP, remembered the old Dixwell Plaza, and walking to his childhood friend Phil’s house, which was nearby. ​“I’m able to see both” old Dixwell and new Dixwell, he said. 

He said he’s excited about the development, particularly the emphasis on access to mental health care and healthy food. He said he also thinks it’s important for Black and Brown kids to see people they can aspire to be, and he believes the revitalization will bring that. 

“A lot of people say I’m the first Black male therapist they’ve met,” Smith said. He wants that to change.